A confectionery company is dealing with a sticky situation after penis-shaped gummy lollies made their way into some of its packs, costing the company thousands of dollars in recalls....One out of every 20 or 30 bags would have one or two little gummy penises in them, he said.The company had apologised to the customers and compensated them with free lollies.Collecting up all the bags of lollies and dumping them at the tip had cost the company thousands of dollars, Van de Geest said.

I'd bet that, had they stickered the packs and put them on the top shelf, they would have sold out quickly with buyers hoping to be the lucky one to find the prize inside. The stickers could have the picture of the offending gummi along with a note "Every 20th pack has a prize! Collect all the colours!"

So, Kirznerian alertness failure? Or, more likely, horror at potential outrage from parents hurting them in the longer term? I would have thought that the "top-shelf plus sticker" approach would have been enough to guard against parental backlash, but it isn't my money on the line.

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The problem with just opening up land at the periphery is that it doesn't address any of the supply issues where people actually want to live. Prices in Ponsinby/ Grey Lynn etc are higher cause people want to live there, they are low in Papakura and Drury because far less people want to live there. They also lack access to services and employment. Viewing housing affordability in terms of econ101 supply/demand means issues relating to transport costs, loss of social capital etc. are always ignored from the overall costs of the housing debate.